Q&A: The Concept of Desecration of God's Name
The Concept of Desecration of God's Name
Question
Hello Rabbi, what is the meaning of the concept of desecration of God's name?
If it is talking about an observer on the side who is a non-believer, then why is God's name desecrated from his point of view?
And if he is a believer, then again, why is God's name desecrated from his point of view? After all, he knows that this is forbidden and that the person is acting wrongly, not that God commanded it or anything.
Thank you very much
Answer
The assumption is that the Jewish people are supposed to represent the Holy One, blessed be He, and if they look bad, that is a desecration of God's name. People think that this is what His servants look like, so it reflects badly on Him. Maybe He is not interested in morality, or does not care about morality in the world. Not everyone necessarily knows exactly what the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, is, and they learn about it from the conduct of His servants. Beyond that, you are looking at this from a modern perspective, but in the past it was obvious that there were many gods, and each nation had its own god. People speak this way today as well in a borrowed sense, and the intention is what I wrote at the beginning.